- 9 years ago
- #arte
Bäm Bäm Westbam!
Der DJ und die Macht der Nacht
Westbam alias Maximilian Lenz ist der einflussreichste DJ Deutschlands und eine lebende Techno-Legende. Er ist Vorreiter, Querdenker, Musikliebhaber, Party-Macher und König der Turntables. Im März 2015 feierte der Mitinitiator der Loveparade seinen 50. Geburtstag. In einer sehr persönlichen Dokumentation schaut Westbam zurück auf seine 30-jährige Karriere, mit zahlreichen bekannten Wegbegleitern und Freunden: "Bäm Bäm Westbam!"
#arte
Thema: 25 Jahre Wiedervereinigung
Bäm Bäm Westbam!,Der DJ und die Macht der Nacht, Wiedervereinigung,arte,
Porträt/Biografie,
Dokumentation/Reportage,
Musikprogramm
Der DJ und die Macht der Nacht
Westbam alias Maximilian Lenz ist der einflussreichste DJ Deutschlands und eine lebende Techno-Legende. Er ist Vorreiter, Querdenker, Musikliebhaber, Party-Macher und König der Turntables. Im März 2015 feierte der Mitinitiator der Loveparade seinen 50. Geburtstag. In einer sehr persönlichen Dokumentation schaut Westbam zurück auf seine 30-jährige Karriere, mit zahlreichen bekannten Wegbegleitern und Freunden: "Bäm Bäm Westbam!"
#arte
Thema: 25 Jahre Wiedervereinigung
Bäm Bäm Westbam!,Der DJ und die Macht der Nacht, Wiedervereinigung,arte,
Porträt/Biografie,
Dokumentation/Reportage,
Musikprogramm
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00Westbem influenced techno in Germany like no other in the 80s and 90s.
00:08As a musician, producer and label boss, he is making music history.
00:11The mastermind behind Love Parade and Mayday laid the foundation for a worldwide techno movement.
00:17and thus shapes Germany's new image as a laid-back, cosmopolitan country.
00:23Westbem is a lateral thinker, a visionary, a pioneer.
00:27At the Love Parade in 1997, for the first time a million people from all over the world danced to Westbem sets.
00:34A dimension that even the biggest DJs can only dream of today.
00:53The E-Werk was one of the clubs for techno music in Berlin.
00:56At the height of the movement, however, it, like many other shops in the eastern part, fell victim to the capital city plan.
01:03And this was where the DJ booth was.
01:07Like this.
01:09Actually, right here.
01:10There.
01:12Here.
01:13A little higher.
01:14In the mid-90s, Westbem regularly performed here as a resident DJ.
01:26For me, the perfect evening is a life story told through my music.
01:43Everything that has shaped me and everything I have experienced, that it can be found somewhere, even in the set.
01:49To simply say, "My set is a snapshot," is not an approach for me.
01:56But for me it's great, also because it gives me a sense of purpose in living a longer life.
02:02that things gain more weight and that there is more resonance.
02:07Westbem is an avant-gardist.
02:12He created, promoted, and established dance music in the underground scene.
02:17Her later acceptance into society is largely thanks to him.
02:22Today the DJ is 50 and leads a rather bourgeois life with his wife and children in the family-friendly Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin.
02:37Directly below his apartment is Westbem's record room.
02:44This is where he keeps his musical treasures.
02:47There are more than 3000 vinyl records.
02:54What wonderful things do we have here?
02:59When I moved over here to Prenzlauer Berg, the question was, what do I do with my records?
03:05They don't really have enough space in my apartment anymore, I have kids now.
03:10So I thought I needed an apartment for my records, so they could live somewhere.
03:15Oh, this is now a total classic, Cowboy Temple.
03:27You might recognize me, the man with the beret, that's me.
03:31This is my very first lesson, 1985.
03:34I have another crimp here.
03:36You never find anything in a record collection, or rather, you find something, but not what you're looking for.
03:55My favorite records are actually house records.
03:57And the most important thing in my career was making music at home.
04:05Making music at home was a real eye-opener, where everything we loved came together.
04:11I already liked disco, high energy and stuff like that before.
04:22And I liked black music, hip-hop, turntablism.
04:26And then I also liked experimental music.
04:29And chamber music was the first music that brought all of this together.
04:32One of the few autographs I own.
04:43The record that changed my life.
04:47Your Friend, Afrika Bermata.
04:50Over the course of his 30-year career, the music lover has repeatedly collaborated with pop icons.
05:07Big voices from the international music scene can be heard on his tracks.
05:11Music
05:13In 2002, Vespem helped Nena make a furious comeback with Oldschool Baby.
05:28We are the future
05:30The past
05:34We are the moment
05:38The one who always remains
05:41I would like to cut out this loop here.
06:07Quitting has called for a career to end.
06:08That was a concert by me
06:11At 17
06:13Quite a racket
06:14A wonderful historical photograph
06:17And
06:19I've always wanted to visit this reef
06:22Edit it again
06:23Let's see how that sounds today.
06:25So
06:25That was about 30 years ago.
06:29Over 30 years
06:30Well, that's about time to take a look.
06:32Can this be remixed?
06:35Yes, yes, yes, yes, exactly
06:49But don't be alarmed.
06:51Yes, well, I have the television with me.
06:53OK
06:54So
06:56Don't be alarmed, see you soon!
06:58Bye
06:59So
07:00Exactly
07:01My sister is also participating.
07:02Music
07:03Westbem is a Berliner by choice
07:13He originally comes from the small town of Münster.
07:17In Westphalia
07:17We all live here, so to speak.
07:25A completely intact neighborhood
07:28So, from that perspective, I can say
07:29I live here by chance.
07:31But coincidentally, there are also people living here.
07:33My two sisters
07:33My brother happens to live
07:35One kilometer further away
07:36So somehow it seems
07:38The principle behind it
07:40Serafina Lenz is the eldest of four siblings.
07:50Hello
07:51I know.
07:56In our family
07:58We shake hands
07:59That's right
08:00I've brought some photos with me.
08:02Oh, that's great!
08:04Cool
08:04That's me.
08:05Yes, that's you.
08:06That looks very anti-authoritarian.
08:08Yes
08:08Serafina is an artist
08:14So my sister and I
08:16In doing so, they continue the artistic tradition
08:19My sister is more academic, of course.
08:22Because I wasn't accepted at the academy.
08:26That was in 1968
08:28So this is 1968
08:30So, back in 1968 I wasn't such a hippie yet.
08:34As I always maintain
08:35I was actually only one of the three boys back then.
08:38The Lenz children grow up in an intellectual and artistic household.
08:43My parents met in the 60s at the Düsseldorf Art Academy.
08:51People like Josef Beuys and Gerhard Richter were
08:54Fellow student and Sigmar Polke
08:57My mother became an art teacher.
09:00My father became a professor at the teacher training college.
09:03Accordingly, we always had a relatively high number of problems with people interested in art.
09:09Everything was somehow a performance.
09:11It was kind of like us against the squares.
09:15And I've somehow internalized that, along with my siblings.
09:19Her childhood was shaped by the 1968 student movement and its ideas.
09:27When I think about anti-authoritarian education
09:34Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the children's cottage in Mecklenbeck.
09:37The Kinderkotten is a self-organized kindergarten.
09:41A parent project for new forms of parenting
09:44That stopped when I started school.
09:49That was a shock for me.
09:50When one then transitioned from the anti-authoritarian kindergarten to school
09:54I would say the same.
09:57They hadn't been briefed.
09:58So when it was suddenly said
10:03You have to be friendly.
10:04One must be polite.
10:05I hadn't practiced being good.
10:07But that was suddenly demanded of me.
10:10Ah ok
10:10Yes, for me I think it was more like this:
10:13The rules were somehow up for discussion.
10:16That means nothing is actually as it seems.
10:19But actually, everything could have been different.
10:21Absolutely
10:22And that, by the way, is for me a feeling about life.
10:25For me too, yes exactly.
10:26People always assume that.
10:32So say it as it is right now
10:34Do they think it's self-evident?
10:35That it is so
10:36And I don't think that at all.
10:38That's the beauty of reality.
10:39That one can change
10:41Exactly
10:41Yes, but I think that's a really great achievement.
10:45From this perhaps anti-authoritarian upbringing
10:47But also basically this whole life concept
10:49That all of this can be redefined
10:52Westbem has been writing lyrics about music since his youth
10:57In his book
10:58The Power of the Night
10:59He tells his life story
11:01And those of techno
11:031969
11:07I was a four-year-old hippie child
11:09Marching music was my first love
11:12It wasn't exactly the anti-militarist soundtrack
11:15Anti-authoritarian education
11:17I had the Radetzky March on the record player.
11:20In the living room
11:22All you had to do was press a magic button.
11:25And the play began
11:26From the beat and the power of the trombones and trumpets
11:29I felt so energized
11:32That I moved on to the children's room
11:34He packed a small black suitcase.
11:36I went to my mother's kitchen
11:38And said
11:39The time has come.
11:40I'm going on a hike
11:42It was my first musical journey into the unknown.
11:46The Radetzky beat in my head
11:48The bass timpani in the heart
11:51The bass timpani in the heart
12:21At the age of 14, Max decides
12:31to become a punk
12:32I was in Holland with my mother
12:38Then this punk comes around the corner.
12:40It was like seeing Santa Claus appear to me.
12:43This punk
12:44I thought they looked really cool
12:48That's how I wanted to be as a child
12:49So it took a moment.
12:51Because I was a hippie kid
12:52The mother was naturally against it too.
12:54That one cuts one's hair
12:55His transformation into Frank C. Rocks
12:58One of just two punks
13:00In provincial Münster
13:01He illustrates it in a comic.
13:02I think the great youth movement is always the
13:05She says
13:05How can I make it as uncomfortable as possible for myself?
13:07And how can I be as awesome as possible?
13:10Provoking and being provoked
13:13It's one and the same thing
13:14Max's interest in music is sparked by William Röttger.
13:22He is a friend of the family and later his manager.
13:25Many people say, "Yes, he's just like your father," or something like that.
13:29He was obviously 16 years older than me.
13:33Therefore, not exactly a father figure.
13:35But more like an older comrade.
13:37And he significantly influences Max's taste in music.
13:42Through William he meets punk legends
13:44Like the Ramones or the Sex Pistols love
13:47But his passion soon turns to experimental electronic music.
13:56He listens to Fat Gadget, Cabaret Voltaire or Der Plan
13:59At 16, he founded his own New Wave band, Kriegsschauplatz.
14:04That actually went along with the new German wave.
14:17And so it goes with this punk thing.
14:18That someone tried somewhere too
14:20To find such an identity as a German
14:22And that one says
14:23Yes, now German music is kind of cool too.
14:25German lyrics were only heard in Schlager music at the end of the 1970s.
14:29With punk and the new German wave, things will change.
14:32Max had his awakening experience with the band
14:36German-American Friendship
14:37DAF short
14:38With DAF singer Gabi Delgado
14:51The hero of his youth
14:53Westbam and Westbam are connected today by a long-standing friendship.
14:56During the conversation, they reminisce about Gabi's pioneering years.
15:02I first heard of DAF
15:06I know now, kebab dreams, this little single
15:09William had the
15:10And that one came out in 1980, right?
15:13I think 1980
15:14I got all of this from William and from John Peels Music
15:17Exactly, John Peel, exactly
15:19So, how long before that did DAF actually exist?
15:22Yes, that's something to think about.
15:26Yes, exactly, exactly
15:27So
15:28For much longer?
15:30No, not much longer
15:31Not much longer
15:32I started at almost exactly 77.
15:34But not with DAF, but with, with, with, with
15:37Charlie's Girls
15:39Charlie's Girls?
15:41That was actually my first band
15:42Charlie's Girls
15:43Charlie's Girls
15:44We were there in 1977
15:47When the punk scene began in Düsseldorf
15:50And there we have at the Rattingerhof
15:52And the first ones to come were the artists.
15:54Exactly, that's how the lunch break came about.
15:56But that was also the whole Düsseldorf avant-garde music scene.
16:01She was totally involved with the art academy.
16:04Yes, exactly
16:04We only had, we only had two tracks
16:07OK
16:07We had fun, fun, fun on the motorway.
16:10OK
16:11Fun, fun, fun on the motorway
16:15But fun
16:15Yeah, well, fun
16:16Fun
16:16Sure.
16:17Sure.
16:18And, uh, well, cabin compartment
16:20That was such a complex text.
16:21Aha
16:21And another text
16:23It was called, and that was also the first text I ever wrote.
16:25That meant, um
16:27The bus, the train
16:30It disgusts me
16:31Why should I, asshole, have to drive with that thing?
16:34That's really wonderful!
16:36That was punk, you know.
16:37Yes, yes, of course
16:38Or with guitar and
16:39Exactly
16:40At the age of 17, Westbem moved from the Westphalian province to the divided city for the first time.
16:52He lives in West Berlin.
16:53With his mentor and fatherly friend William Röttger
16:57I then went from here to school
16:59And also, so to speak, on my excursion into night living.
17:03For party people, Berlin was the island of the blessed long before the techno wave.
17:18There is no curfew and a vibrant underground scene.
17:21The walled city is a melting pot for dropouts of all kinds.
17:26For conscientious objectors or artists
17:28My semester in Berlin in 1982 was a kind of educational journey into the nightlife.
17:44The "Linientreu" (Loyal to the Line), for example, was a wax museum of all the youth movements that had existed up to that point.
17:51The big anthem of the camp was Burning Down the House.
17:55Everyone really came out of their corners and danced together.
17:59The jungle perfectly captured the idea of DJing in the 80s.
18:04There was a wall between the people and the DJ.
18:08"We play the best music," was the motto.
18:11If you don't dance, that doesn't matter either.
18:13At Nollendorfplatz I suddenly found myself in front of the Metropol
18:17A large, gloomy building
18:20I climbed the endless steps, suddenly I was surrounded by leather-clad men.
18:25The bass drum intensified again with a second
18:28There were screams, whistles, and hysteria.
18:31I was shocked and fascinated at the same time.
18:35Right in the heart of Berlin's nightlife in the 80s
18:43Westbem and Fetish
18:45Fetish was an icon of the scene at that time.
18:47He is a bouncer and DJ at Club Zest.
18:51Fetish was already a kind of star of the punk scene
19:00He looked the best and he stood out from everything else.
19:03So here
19:06Was that zest
19:09Was that zest
19:10Fetish was not a Dite musician
19:16He wasn't the type to mix things himself or anything like that.
19:19But he made a record selection that I found stylish.
19:22They were playing stuff like Buffalo Girls by Malcolm McLaren.
19:27Adventures Behind the Wheels of Steel by Grandmaster Flash
19:31The other DJs were then so into the buttons that one left
19:41Still a bit too cerebral, New Wave is somehow convoluted.
19:45And then disco became a swear word.
19:48And for me, disco has never been a dirty word.
19:51No, no, that's right, we were disco punks.
19:53The most legendary club in West Berlin is the Jungle on Nürnberger Straße.
20:04Only those in the know can find their way to the toughest door in the city, near the Kaufhaus des Westens department store.
20:10I think it's number 53 here, Jungle; I was about 13 there, no idea.
20:15If I was lucky, I got in.
20:17And I don't know either, I always thought it was awful in there, to be honest.
20:20That was a cocktail bar, it looked good.
20:22It only looked good because it had previously been a Chinese restaurant from the 1960s.
20:26They say everything has to become a bit more chic and very stylish now.
20:32That was definitely the place to be for Germany back then.
20:37And it was pretty tense here, and yeah, no fun at all.
20:44And if you've been dancing too wildly, then calm down a little.
20:47And so, as always, I'm sorry, but now I'm being kicked out of the Facebook group Jungle, finally!
20:52But what really became Metropol later in the 90s is more what we call Metropol.
20:58And there, too, were those who were somewhat despised and ostracized.
21:02The Metropol, popular in the gay scene, is one of the biggest and trendiest venues of its time.
21:09Famous (or infamous) for his own sound
21:11Mixing is one thing, but it's quite another whether you're mixing together some mid-tempo tracks.
21:20Or High Energy, and what followed from that was House
21:24And that was new, that was different too.
21:27Because all that heterosexual dance music of the 80s was around 105 BPM.
21:33But at the Metropol, it ran at 130 BPM, and that makes quite a difference.
21:40The driving beats form the basis for the high-energy sound of the early 80s.
21:47Dance music first conquered the dance floors and soon the charts in Europe and the USA.
21:56With pumping, straight beats and prominent vocals
22:00At 19, Westbem, still known as Westfalia-Bambata, climbed into the DJ booth at the Metropol.
22:06And recognizes the potential of repetitive rhythmic tracks
22:09Although hip-hop is listened to in Europe, the cultural technique of mixing is still completely new territory.
22:23At that time, there were only songs.
22:28And there was a short part at the beginning where the beat was playing.
22:32And what I did was essentially extend this position.
22:36I am most likely a pioneer in this regard, having seen it relatively early, in '83 and '84, and having published about it even back then.
22:44That this is an emancipated, independent form of music
22:48What's happening here now with the records, the mixing, this magnifying of beats
22:58These are methods that exist in art, such as collage.
23:01And now this will become a musical idea
23:04But I had the feeling that nobody understood it, nobody appreciated it.
23:14And that made me very frustrated as a 19-year-old.
23:16And then I more or less wrote it down for myself, the topic
23:20What is Record Art?
23:22In this groundbreaking text, Westbem describes the fundamentals
23:27Mixing, cutting, scratching, and declaring the DJ the new artistic figure
23:31And I have the skill, I have more skill than the German dilettantes
23:35The first recording follows
23:38Westbem released Seventeen as Cowboy Temple in 1985
23:43From this idea, a new musical idea eventually emerged.
23:50So, which is also only instrumental
23:52This is based on a bassline
23:54Even just a harmony, like DJ music.
24:00Sven Regner is the singer of the band Element of Crime.
24:13His novel Herr Lehmann made him popular beyond the music scene.
24:17Westbem remixed Fat Gatches Collapsing New People for the soundtrack of the film adaptation of the novel.
24:22Why did we actually meet so late?
24:25We were actually with the same label, weren't we?
24:29Because I haven't written any books yet, or why?
24:31Generally, these worlds were rock music or songwriting music with singers and so on.
24:36And the entire techno world was actually completely separate.
24:41Yes, exactly, I introduced that a little bit myself.
24:44Especially at the beginning, right? Especially at the beginning.
24:46Because you were there too, it was all new, it was all supposed to be new
24:49And then, of course, it's clear that one wants to distance oneself first.
24:53Then they say, "We have nothing to do with the others."
24:55Yes, because I think it was also important in the dance sector.
24:58To simply say, "We're going to do everything completely new"
25:00And then we have nothing to do with this other matter.
25:03So, guitars go in the museum.
25:04No more fucking Rock'n'Roll
25:06Because that was actually your thing
25:07That wasn't quite how it was meant at all.
25:10But because, of course, we know everything better today.
25:13Techno is, of course, the continuation of rock 'n' roll by other means.
25:18Yes, ask me, I've spoken with many people.
25:20Many of these people, for example...
25:22They played in bands back in the 80s.
25:24And so, and then really so
25:25Even such experimental ones
25:27Simply made a garden skirt and other things.
25:29That's precisely why I call this period, so to speak.
25:32Even the last days of rock 'n' roll
25:33Because that was a time, the early 80s.
25:35Where they said you can still do it with a band
25:38And it's completely new
25:39And later they said to each other
25:40Let's drop this Avogad stuff.
25:42DJs do electronics, blah blah blah
25:45And that's where rock 'n' roll, so to speak, took off.
25:49So, classic rock 'n' roll music.
25:50Then it shrunk back to a healthy size.
25:52Because all the keyboard players were crazy about dance music
25:55That's what it looks like.
25:56Oh, I see.
25:57If you think about it carefully...
25:58All these things
25:59Ultimately, dance music has always been music for keyboard players.
26:02Then came the hatred for the guitar.
26:04The keyboard player was the least cool of the entire hall.
26:06Yes, that's clear.
26:07The keyboard player had
26:08With Nena, he hung it around his neck like a guitar.
26:11That was the most uncool thing ever.
26:12And now came the dance.
26:14And then suddenly the keyboard player was cool
26:16Because he was suddenly like that
26:17He made electronic music
26:18And so
26:19And then I could finally see the damn guitarist
26:23And that was new
26:23And that was cool
26:24And that's why everyone else is old.
26:25And that is a museum
26:26That's kind of awesome!
26:27The history of techno needs to be rewritten.
26:30There was no label for DJ music back then.
26:37Westbem and his colleagues believe in the new music
26:40And with Low Spirit, they are the first
26:42Those who establish such a label in Germany
26:44From a techno-friendly shared apartment to big business
26:47We would always sit around and plan the future.
26:52A William in the living room
26:56And the first visionary, so to speak, of the business, was William
27:05William said
27:06Just wait and see.
27:08They'll be paying 1000 marks for DJing one day.
27:11And I really thought
27:13Pfff, William's crazy
27:14The party series starts in 1987.
27:23Power of the night in the city
27:24And becomes a sensation of Berlin's nightlife.
27:27This is the breakthrough for Westbem
27:29I started there.
27:41Playing an hour of chamber music
27:43And then suddenly things went incredibly well.
27:46Along with all these show effects.
27:50Was that some kind of magic, so to speak?
27:52And suddenly, on that record-breaking evening, I think we had 8000 people watching.
27:57And West Berlin's nightlife was truly deserted.
28:00Because everyone was only under the influence of the night
28:02House music originated primarily in the black and gay clubs of Chicago.
28:10The beats from simple drum machines were a huge hit on Berlin's dance floors in 1987.
28:17The beats from simple Drummond
28:47This Schopenhauer thing, what's the point of it all?
29:03I've hardly ever read an interview with you anywhere.
29:05Always the same Schopenhauer
29:06Always the same Schopenhauer
29:07Always answering questions that are annoying or something.
29:11A nice Schopenhauer piece right away.
29:12I can't say that he's techno.
29:14I think it's more like this:
29:15It's more of a private thing
29:17Schopenhauer's main work is called The World as Will and Representation
29:20And Schopenhauer's point is to say
29:22We urge everyone
29:24Everything in the world is pressing
29:26Is an objectification of the will
29:28He pushes forward and he does and he's doing
29:30And actually, it torments us.
29:32And we are in this world
29:34The devils and the tormented souls at the same time
29:38And we actually want to get to the point where we overcome this will.
29:42And in my DJ theory, it comes up again.
29:46Namely, many people say
29:49Yes, the pinnacle of DJing is
29:51If the DJ is such a dictator
29:55And he imposed his will on all people.
29:59And they are now dancing along with obvious pleasure.
30:01Absolutely terrible
30:02And that's where Schopenhauer comes in again.
30:04I actually want to overcome this.
30:06This moment
30:07Of will and the imposition of will
30:10And something new is created.
30:12This is an interesting process.
30:14Where you can feel
30:15Sometimes you see that.
30:17That you get the feeling the music takes over
30:19And the others
30:20Even the one who is believed to manufacture them.
30:23Definitely, hangs up
30:24As a DJ, as a musician
30:26On stage, something
30:26It's basically just someone who does some repairs for you.
30:29What is already there anyway
30:30The moment this directed thing goes over the guy
30:33Exactly, if it runs on its own.
30:35If it happens automatically, then the will is there.
30:37That's certainly the Schopenhauer thing.
30:39That's the Schopenhauer thing.
30:41In 1988, Westbam released the single "Disco Deutschlands".
30:51That was a typical 80s doctoral thesis.
31:09I've given it a thousand thoughts.
31:11Not about how to make a dance record
31:13And that's why this is
31:14That's what you might call German music, in a bad way.
31:18Which is then too intellectual
31:20The title is programmatically visionary.
31:26Just like the video
31:28I certainly didn't foresee the Love Rate.
31:32But of course, it is this joy that is important.
31:34The way you see scenes there is so precise
31:36Where I throw records over the wall
31:38I saw more in it from the very beginning.
31:41I just didn't just
31:42It's Saturday evening.
31:44Ringelpiez with everyone and we'll have a good time.
31:47I always wanted to achieve more.
31:49And there I could always hear the train.
31:53As one of the first German West German artists
32:01Westbam connects during the times of Glasnost and Perestroika
32:04A connection to the Eastern Bloc
32:06In Riga, following the example of Record Art, a new art project is being created.
32:09Tape Art
32:10Roberts thought I'd do something like that too.
32:13My name is Eastbam
32:15And if that's Record Art
32:17Then I'll call my music Tape Art
32:19And that's how the idea came about.
32:22We're having the big East-West meeting.
32:25Westbam meets Eastbam
32:27It's very fashionable and trendy at the moment.
32:45To act musically in the East as a herald of new truths
32:49And you're also coming from Riga.
32:51Yes, I think I inspired that a little bit.
32:54That the Soviet TJs thus became aware of their possibilities
32:59Following the motto
33:00Man of the tapes, awake and recognize your power
33:04That is also why Westbam is now active in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc.
33:09A huge fan base
33:11He regularly DJs there.
33:13I have a certain historical awareness.
33:19That still meant something special to me.
33:22If I play in Israel now
33:24Or if I play in Poland
33:25Or if I play in Russia
33:26I'm doing this with my international understanding vibe.
33:29With the dance track Monkey Say Monkey Do
33:36Did Westbam capture the spirit of the times in 1988?
33:39The single is not only bringing success for the label.
33:42But also popularity in Great Britain
33:45This Mag-I-Say Monkey Do is going down well.
33:50It has already sold tens, tens of thousands of times.
33:54And I recently read that to my great delight.
33:58In England, they wrote in the magazine Jocks
34:02It was played to death in all the hip-hop in house clubs
34:06And I find that very remarkable.
34:07That it happened in both hip-hop and house clubs
34:10Because there are usually hardly any crossovers there
34:12Hardly any points of contact
34:13A radical new trend is emerging from Chicago.
34:18Minimal sound to Great Britain
34:20Acid House was the hype in the summer of 1988.
34:24The synthetic twittering
34:26And the intensity of the beats
34:28They send the ravers into ecstasy.
34:30In autumn it had that name
34:32Summer of Love
34:33And then the English had everything they needed.
34:36There was an acid smiley
34:37So, as a symbol, you have something visual.
34:40They had such an ideology
34:42That was kind of like love and peace.
34:441989
34:47Two little English homeboys
34:50Should take us around London
34:51In the car, one of them said
34:53Okay, now we're going to a rave
34:55The word rave was new to me.
34:58Cold Stomper, man
35:00Monkey say, monkey do, man
35:02That's a rave, you know
35:03It's movement
35:04He fidgeted around
35:05Then he explained to me
35:07It's something like an acid party.
35:09Ravers go to a field
35:11And they really let loose there.
35:13The parents would naturally be terribly worried.
35:16Drugs, noise, and so on
35:17Okay, that was new.
35:20Until now, it was people who went to acid parties.
35:23But now they were ravers
35:25And that created a new identity.
35:28Because ravers were different
35:31The English public
35:36Feels overwhelmed by the colorful hustle and bustle
35:37And challenged aggressive ecstasy use
35:40The government is taking action
35:41Raves will be banned
35:43And the ball-wielders were bullied
35:44The criminalized take to the streets
35:46Now this acid wave has arrived in Berlin.
35:53And in Berlin, the state was never against anything.
35:55The state let the kids in Berlin do everything.
35:59That's how this wonderful idea came about.
36:01She says we're demonstrating how nice we are.
36:04And we demonstrate how fun this music is.
36:07And we are taking this to the public eye.
36:09And everyone is welcome to join in the dancing.
36:11The Love Parade is born
36:15The idea came from DJ Dr. Motte.
36:19As a registered demonstration
36:21Dancing under the motto
36:22Peace, joy, and happiness
36:24Around 150 pioneers crossed the Kuhdamm
36:27The musician and DJ Hardy
36:45Grew up in East Germany
36:47And Ray was there from the very beginning.
36:48Today he shares his name with Vespem
36:53A music studio
36:54You didn't hear anything about the first Love Parade in Dresden.
37:03This wasn't as legendary as in West Berlin, was it?
37:07There were two or three very well-informed colleagues.
37:11Videos were playing at the clubs, on the walls.
37:15I also wanted to know what it is that you see in the pictures.
37:19And then they said, yes, that's the Love Parade, that's what it's from Berlin.
37:23After the fall of the Berlin Wall
37:32East and West meet on equal footing to the techno beat
37:35Reunification is taking place within the youth movement.
37:38For me, that was an expression of the feeling of life at that time.
37:54It was, in a sense, this moment of liberation dance and GDR exorcism.
38:00That's when I really realized what kind of music it actually is.
38:05What a great effect it has!
38:07More and more people want to be a part of it.
38:12Welcome to the Love Parade
38:15And everyone is welcomed with open arms.
38:19Around 15,000 ravers came in 1992.
38:22Two years later, their number had increased tenfold.
38:25That was the sound of the time.
38:42And the Love Parade was the event of its time
38:45And you can't make this up.
38:48No one actually imagined that Woodstock would become the big party of the 60s.
38:53That's how it happened.
38:54And that's how it was with the Love Parade too.
38:56From 1996 onwards, it was such a worldwide spectacle.
38:59Then people came from South America and from Tokyo and from everywhere.
39:04In 1997, one million visitors danced to the first official anthem in Berlin.
39:11Sunshine by Dr. Motto and Westbam
39:13First of all, this constant growth rate was of course evident.
39:17And this idea that we are taking over society
39:20At some point we will see society
39:22The motto was essentially to say that we will continue to have world peace.
39:26Because if it continues to grow like this, something will happen in 2011.
39:29Just let everyone at the Love Parade, then we'll have world peace.
39:33Westbam and his fellow members of Low Spurt recognized the potential of the new youth movement early on.
39:56In the greater Rave May Day area, ideology and business merge.
40:00In 1992, 15,000 people went wild at the ice rink in Cologne.
40:06And twice as many again in front of the hall.
40:08I would say, another step towards the Ravene society
40:16That's what we plan to do.
40:17Soon the whole society will be raving
40:19Not just the 25,000
40:20This is still just a small start.
40:22It's going to get even better soon.
40:23Where will that take place if it gets even better?
40:26Because the capacities here are limited.
40:27Anywhere, simply in the supermarket, in the parking lot, in the museum, wherever you want.
40:34So, in the Chancellor's office, the bungalow, everywhere
40:39May Day, May Day
40:40The Raving Society is condemned by observers.
40:44For her followers, she acts as a source of identity.
40:46May Day, May Day, May Day
40:49West Ben provides the soundtrack to an era of unbridled hedonism.
40:53Under the project name
40:55Members of May Day get their own anthem every May Day.
40:5918 of them landed in the German charts.
41:04I've been searching for anthems like these my whole life.
41:16For me, an anthem is something that tries to synchronize people to the feeling of a particular time.
41:23A way to connect and capture a special moment
41:29For West Ben & Co., there is only one direction.
41:34Higher, faster, further
41:35Critics primarily focus on the commercial impulse and accuse them of selling out.
41:40The underground scene in clubs like the internationally renowned Tresor is distinct.
41:47My definition of class is precisely not recognizing these boundaries.
41:56And not to say, yes, unfortunately I am this pop culture pig.
42:01And unfortunately, I'm only making pop music now.
42:03Or I am now, I am underground, I only do that.
42:06For me, Somewhere Over the Rainbow was also amazing.
42:18Or my single Wizards of Sonic
42:20Because we tried to bring these pop aspects of dance culture right up to the wall.
42:28For me, it was always about looking in all possible directions.
42:33Where does one end up, so to speak?
42:35And I don't feel like a pioneer in that direction, so to speak.
42:39But as a pioneer of the directions
42:41And so I have a work that I can only read in chapters.
42:46These are individual sound chapters.
42:48And each has its own rules, its own aesthetics.
42:52And I consider that to be innovative work.
42:56From 1995 onwards, Happy Hardcore dominated the mainstream.
43:01The naive sound with Mickey Mouse voices is ubiquitous.
43:04At this point, Westbem is closing this chapter for himself, a chapter he was instrumental in opening.
43:12What's the situation with DAF in France?
43:16DAF is doing very well in France
43:18OK
43:19Very, very good
43:20Very, very good
43:21And France has the fourth largest fan base.
43:25I wish I could say the same about myself.
43:27But in France, I always remember it with horror.
43:32To that big party in 1997
43:33That was a rave.
43:37And in France, I was, so to speak, very strongly seen.
43:41So, the representative of the Great Rail project
43:43Mayday, Love Raid
43:45So
43:45And there was practically like a French
43:48I think it was almost like a resistance movement.
43:51resistance
43:52And that's really how it was.
43:54So that I start playing
43:56And now everyone is running away from the dance floor.
43:58A very large dance area
44:00Everyone is running downstairs
44:01I think, oh God
44:02The music isn't that bad.
44:04Or do they all know now that I play?
44:07And they all hate me
44:08But then it was like this
44:09That obviously
44:11Since so
44:11There was simply an organized resistance.
44:14with people
44:15The ones at the corners of the dance floor
44:16And in the middle
44:17At the same time
44:19Tear gas ignited
44:21I felt really bad for them.
44:24Because I actually
44:25So
44:25Me already
44:27I actually do that with my wife, who promotes international understanding.
44:30Bring people together
44:32I always found that very difficult in France.
44:36I still hope
44:38Maybe I should go on tour to France with Duff as a DJ.
44:42Can you take me with you sometime?
44:44mid-90s in Berlin
44:52Did I feel
44:53Now everything has been fully explained, right up to completion.
44:57Everything techno ever promised us
45:00It is now fully formulated and in front of us.
45:03We can actually close up shop now.
45:06But it was precisely at this point that it was said
45:08So what happens next?
45:10I can now use an electric capture plate
45:13A disco record
45:14A techno record
45:15A house plate
45:16I can play all of that in one evening.
45:18And then I started working as a DJ at the E-Werk.
45:21And the kids understood that.
45:26They liked that
45:27So
45:28That was a few years earlier
45:30In Berlin and conceivable
45:32There was techno.
45:32Half techno
45:33That was purism
45:34That was around '96
45:39It came from France
45:40For example
45:40Is punk allowed?
45:41That was the same direction
45:42That one now said
45:43Yes, techno is also related to disco.
45:46And this is the moment of postmodernism.
45:50From now on, you can freely move them against each other.
45:53And in our music, to everyone's surprise, that became a reality.
45:58Suddenly celebrated with a Members of Mayday anthem
46:01The E-Werk was the last classic techno club.
46:18From the really early period
46:19With the people who actually started the scene
46:22And then there were these new people
46:24New shops
46:25Berghain and so on
46:26But here I find
46:28That's where it basically ended, so to speak.
46:29The classic early Berlin techno nightlife
46:32When this store closed
46:34So, the first chapter was over, so to speak.
46:37Thus begins the first chapter of Berlin's techno scene
46:40Techno, more than any other music, represents the 90s.
46:48For optimism
46:50The overdose
46:51And the idea of life as a permanent party
46:54And it was, so to speak, a decade of the greatest madness in the Western world.
47:06And that idea ended for me with 9/11.
47:13Wesbem is reorienting itself and embarking on musically surprising paths.
47:24Words don't come easy
47:31Words don't come for free
47:36Money doesn't grow on trees
47:42He begins to sing and strikes a critical tone.
47:59He will compete with Afrika Islam in the preliminary round for the Eurovision Song Contest
48:05And on his album
48:15Do you believe in Westworld?
48:17Wesbem even plays with a classic band lineup.
48:19The limits of techno, which even Wesbem could not break, became apparent to him during the Love Parade disaster in 2010.
48:35This is the year in which the longest-serving Love Parade DJ wants to give his farewell gig.
48:44And when I arrived there, I flew in, then I received these text messages.
48:53And they said, yes, that's so terrible, I'm so sorry, or something like that.
48:57And at first I thought they meant it because I was getting off the train at the Love Parade.
49:01And I thought, no, it's not that bad.
49:03And then after the 10th text message, I realized that something bad had happened.
49:08That meant you should play now, because otherwise there would be mass panic if the artists stopped playing.
49:21And that's when I noticed a major deficiency: there's no techno music that's appropriate to play in such a moment.
49:30Because, of course, she only ever talks about the great moments of euphoria and ecstasy.
49:35And one consequence of that was indeed my album Götterstraße (God's Road).
49:39Here, West combines his musical style with nine voices from the pop world.
49:47The Gods Road is about a moment of dignity somewhere
49:53For me, it's somewhat ironic, but also typical, that someone who has actually dedicated their whole life to track music...
50:01That at some point the album will come out that only contains songs
50:05And where exactly is the voice in the middle of the announcement?
50:11West has reinvented itself once again.
50:21Because he lives the idea of the DJ as an artist
50:24Just as he postulated them over 30 years ago
50:28The DJ as a musician is one of the last truly great new figures to emerge as an emancipated artistic figure.
50:53And it will exist.
50:55The technology is developing there
50:58I don't know how that will be done in 20 years, I wouldn't dare say.
51:03But in the broadest sense, someone will be standing there.
51:06And at least the DJ will still be very clearly recognizable as his ancestor.
51:11You need the pills to take you home again
51:18Don't be so la-dee-da
51:22So la-dee-da
51:26You need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you need the pill, you
51:56Thank you.